Bill shielding nonprofit donors vetoed by Snyder

LANSING, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited state agencies like the Attorney General or Secretary of State from requiring nonprofits to disclose their donors.

Senate Bill 1176 would have prohibited a public agency from requiring disclosures from 501(c) nonprofits, which some lawmakers use for things like charitable giving and community events. Nonprofits are not currently required to disclose donors, but the bill would prevent state agencies like the Attorney General or Secretary of State’s office from requiring that in the future.

The bill would have also prevented public agencies from releasing any information about a nonprofit without permission from the organization’s members and donors.

Snyder said in his veto letter he understood the goal of the legislation was to prevent the creation of “target lists” of donors who support nonprofits with controversial viewpoints. However, he said, the legislation was “a solution in search of a problem which does not exist in Michigan.”